Alfred j



(No Model.)

A. J. SHIPLEY.

BUTTON.

No. 439,903. Patented Nov. 4, 1890.

wmf 1 W UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED J. SHIPLEY, OF VVATERBURY, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE SCOVILLMANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

BUTTON.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 439,903, dated November4, 1890.

Application filed February 24, 1890. Serial No. 341,502. (No model.)

' To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALFRED J. SHIPLEY, of Waterbury, in the county ofNew Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new 1mprovement inButton-Fasteners; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken inconnection with accompanying drawings, and the letters of referencemarked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same,and which said drawings constitute part of this specification, andrepresent, in

Figure 1, a vertical section showing the button and fastening as settogether; Fig. 2, a vertical section of the same, representing thefastening as introduced and about to be set; Fig. 3, a sectional view ofthe anvil detached; Fig. 4, an under face of the anvil detached; Fig. 5,the fastener detached.

This invention relates to an improvement in that class of fasteners forbuttons in which the fastening device is of a two-pronged or stapleshape, the prongs adapted to pass through the fabric from the reverseside into the interior of the button upon an anvil and deflected by theanvil between the front and back, so as to interlock the button with thefastener and secure the button in place.

The prongs of the fastener are usually pointed, so as to readily passthrough the fabric, and these point ends, striking the anvil, aredeflected to the right and left, turning the points toward the back.

It is necessary to make the prongs of the fastener of sufficient lengthfor the thickest material to v hich it may be desired to attach thebutton-that is, so that with such thick material there will be asuiiicient projection of the prongs into the button to permit the pointsof the fastener to be deflected and turned within the button, so as tosecure the fastener. Consequently as the material is less in thicknessthere is a greater length of the prongs within the button. These prongsare best made from wire and must be of sufficient strength to withstandthe force required to deflect and turn the points. The deflecting of thepoints of the prongs by the anvil turns them toward the back and so thatthe points strike the back, and it being of thin metal, or ofconsiderably less strength than the prongs, it frequently occurs thatthe points of the prongs punch through the back, the force applied beingsufficient to produce this result. Such protrusion of the points throughthe back is obviously'objectionable.

The object of my invention is to prevent the possibility of the pointsbeing thus forced through the back; and it consists in the construotionof the anvil-surface within the button, as hereinafter described, andmore particularly recited in the claim.

A represents the back of the button, and B the front closed upon theback in the usual manner.

In the illustration the button is represented as constructed with ashank C, so as to raise the button from the material to which it is tobeattached, also in the usual manner, the shank and back of the buttonbeing centrally open to the interior. \Vithin the button, between theback and front, the anvil D is arranged. This anvil is of circular shapeand presents at its center a convex surface a toward the opening intothe button, and so that as the prongs strike this convex surface theywill be deflected outward. The outer portion of the anvil surroundingthis central convex portion isturned rearward, and so as to present ashort concave curve Z1 toward the back, this curved portion beingconcentric with the convex portion and in such relation to the convexportion that as the points strike the said convex portion of the anvilthey are deflected outward onto this concave rim of the anvil, and thisconcave shape gives to the points of the fastener a continuous curve solong as it is in motion, thereby coiling the point ends of the fastener,as represented at d, Fig. 1, the points coiling within the said rearwardcurved portion of the anvil and the back.

The fastener is of the usual two-pronged character, as seen in Fig. 5,the prongs made from wire. In order that the prongs may readily coilwithin the space provided for them and as described, the prongs, whichare made from wire, are flattened upon their inner and outer sides, andso as to produce flat surfaces on both sides in the plane of the axis ofcoiling-that is, the planes of the flatsurfaces are at right angles tothe plane in which the prongs stand, so that as the points strike theanvil and are turned into the concave portion the fiat portions readilyroll or coil, as described, and because of such flat surfaces are notliable to be thrown out of the plane of coiling. Again,the metal of thepoints being thus flattened, several convolutions may be produced withinthe button, as shown, without requiring any increased space within thebutton.

The coiling of the ends of the fastener between the back and anvil soturns the ends of the fastener that they are presented obliquely to theback, and consequently cannot pierce the back; and, further, the coilingof the points between the anvil and the back fills the space between theanvil and back and soas to insure a firm bearing within the buttonbetween it and its fastener.

Tolocate the anvil within the button and secure it in place, the frontisconstructed wi :h aninward central convex projection e, corresponding tothe central back of the anvil, and so that while the outer edge of theanvil will bear upon the back this inward projection of the front willrest in the concave back of the anvil and prevent the sliding of theanvil, so that it is positively held in its central position, and maytherefore be of considerably less diameter than the body of the button,and thus facilitate the turning of the edges of the anvil directlytoward the back.

I do not in this application claim the peculiar construction offastener, as that will constitute the subject of an independentapplication.

I claim A button composed of the frontAand back B, the back centrallyopen for the introduction of the fastener, combined with an anvil D, setbetween said back and front, the said anvil of concavo-convex shape incentralportion, the convex surface toward the opening into the back andconstructed with a surrounding reversely-curved surface I), the front ofthe button constructed with a central depression 0 corresponding to theconcave surface of the back of the anvil and so as-to rest therein,substantially as described.

ALFRED J. SHIPLEY.

Vitnesses:

T. R. HYDE, Jr., C. W. DE MOTT.

